


Chisps and Lisps

by old bad stuff (wickedradical)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Headcanons Everywhere, crushingly debilitating self loathing, pre game, this is before chara fell down
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-07-25 13:16:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7534153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedradical/pseuds/old%20bad%20stuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The soon-to-be(or so she hopes) Royal Scientist, Alphys, is due to present her project to the whole Underground, and most importantly, the king. If they like it, her dream job will become a reality. If not...? Well, she doesn't want to think about that.</p><p>She has a lot of self-esteem problems to deal with, and an awful stutter on top of that. Her salvation comes in the form of...</p><p>A gooey, dripping monster who claims to be the previous Royal Scientist..?</p><p>Who'd have thought he had speech problems as well?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The yellow, lizard-like monster dug a clawed had through her family size ‘Popato Chisp’ bag, bought specifically for the quantity of food it contained. It was ironic, really, Alphys wondered to herself, that she would most likely be the only one ever to eat the delicious food that lay inside, even with the multiple servings it boasted. It was just as well, a bigger bag was cheaper, and the aspiring scientist was no stranger to finding the best deals on her favorite foods.

Chisps and Instant Noodles could hardly even be called food, really, but Alphys lived alone, and with no one to judge her, ate what she pleased. Besides, the bargains were calming in their greasy simplicity, a comfort food, if you will. And she would grasp with crumb-covered hands at _any_ scraps of comfort she could find at the moment.

You see, Alphys was a scientist, yes, but not _officially_. She was planned to present her official project in only a few hours time, to the _king_ , of all people! The project itself was certainly something special, she assured herself, but those thoughts were weak against the creeping tide of self doubt.

The crushingly debilitating feelings were like an endless tide, relentless in their chipping away at her confidence. _So what if you engineered a robot with a SOUL?_ they whispered. Y _ou didn’t make that SOUL yourself. You just stuck a ghost into a husk of metal and called it science. Mettaton won’t even want to come to your presentation. It won’t work. You will fail King Asgore, and the whole Underground. You’ll waste their time. Everyone will hate you. Undyne won’t like you anymore. Heck, she never did. She just sticks with you so she can be seen with a dumb, bumbling lackey, so she can look strong herself._

In an effort to drown them out, Alphys stuck another hand into her chisp bag, grabbing a handful of crumbs that were residing in the lowermost corner. She’d have to get another bag soon, just one wasn’t _nearly_ enough to calm her nerves, no matter the size or quantity of junk food it contained.

Just she groped around for a change of flavor, her cravings changed to that of instant noodles, the lizard like monster noticed the distinct lack of for in her immediate vicinity. Letting out an uncertain groan, she dug around the pile of wrappers she sat in, eliciting cellophane and plastic crinkles from the mound. It seemed she was sitting a pile of trash, nothing valuable or edible to be found.

“H-how ironic…” She mumbled to herself softly, letting out a bitter laugh. “Surrounded by trash, surrounded by my f-family. I’m one of them, just a silly piece of f-filth.” Her voice was quiet, wavering as she rose from her bed.

The stout monster ambled over to the lower levels of the lab, grimacing as she waded through piles of food wrappers and various anime memorabilia. She’d been kicked out of the inn she stayed at for not paying rent, the last of her gold foolishly spent on food that would barely sustain her for more than an hour at least.

But the king had taken mercy on Alphys and her pitiful circumstances, offering her the empty lab after hearing of her farfetched dreams of being the Royal Scientist. While Asgore Dreemurr was happy letting her live in the bulky metal building, his wife was not so pitying, and set up a strict policy:

Alphys had dreamed of being the Royal Scientist, and was capable of creating something truly special and worthy of such an official rank. Living in the decrepit lab would give her access to several different machines and materials, so naturally, after having a year to plan and create something unique to benefit all of Monsterkind and further them in their technological advances, she would be awarded the title of Royal Scientist.

It sounded simple enough, right? _Wrong_. Despite having more than enough time and actually completing her project, something truly unique, she was filled with… _Uncertainty_ …

Descending in the rickety elevator, Alphys held her tail in her hands nervously. She was sure the busted contraption would give out someday, sooner or later. It didn’t help that she was constantly being jostled from side to side, either. On one occasion it was so bad, whilst she scrambled for a handhold, her claws has caught the button to send her right back up. The monster had gotten a nasty bump on her head that day.

The rusty, metallic sounds of the doors wrenching themselves open brought Alphys from her thoughts, and she hurried out before they could close on her tail. That had happened once, and it was _not_ a pleasurable experience.

The yellow gal hurried through the twisting passageways, pointedly ignoring a failed experiment about the effects of DETERMINATION if placed in a vessel containing no SOUL.

The corridor was dimly lit, fluorescent lights flickering on and off at random intervals. The potted flowers welcomed any inkling of light in the deep corridors, growing slowly but surely. They’d yet to show any signs of life otherwise, however. _Perhaps they would show a response if sprinkled with a monster’s dust?_ The thought popped into the aspiring scientist’s head, strange but possible. She’d have to test it later.

Alphys knew that she kept a spare reserve of snacks _somewhere_ down in the maze of mysterious gadgets, but the exact location eluded her. Getting more discouraged, she stopped to rest against a strange machine left by the previous Royal Scientist.

A DT Extraction Machine, it absorbed DETERMINATION and put it into other objects. This is what had aided her in her experiment with the flowers. A failed experiment, but due to what? The lizard-like girl rapped her scaly knuckles agains the rusty metal exterior, listening for something, _anything_ that would give her a clue on how to further her flopped project.

_Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be?_ Alphys shook her head slowly, leaning it into her hands in shame. _You can’t do anything right. You’re just a failure, a waste of space, giving the Dreemurrs false hope. You’re just going to disappoint them in the end, why even bother trying this far?_

She hunched over and sat down, crumpling into a tired, sniffling ball of yellow, reptilian skin and a bulky lab coat that was far too big. She didn’t even deserve the garment, as it was for _official, royal_ scientists… The yellow monster bunched up the fabric in a hand, gritting her teeth and pulling it off in a fit of self-loathing. As she chucked it to the ground, a garbled, distorted voice rang throughout the room.

“What are you doing with that?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> didnt remember this draft was here so have it bc im not finishing this

The lizard-like monster nearly fainted right then and there. Her heart was beating so quickly, she was sure she’d disintegrate and dust herself right there on the spot out of pure fear.

“W-who was that?” Alphys peeked up from her spot on the floor, turning her scaly head from side to side as she spoke to herself nervously. The small room was so quiet the silence was almost _palpable_ , as if she could feel it with an outstretched claw.

The voice spoke up again, pitch jumbled and intermingled with the sound of buzzing static. The words were unintelligible, garbled like a radio with bad reception. However, one word stuck out to her: _Coat_. It didn’t sound pleased.

The monster stiffed, hurriedly picking the white garment up and wiping off the dirt it had gathered. The floors of the lower lab were grimy, Alphys would have to wash this coat later. She spoke her intentions in a wavering tone.

“I-I.. Yea, I, uh.. I meant to wash it! Yeah!” She forced her lips to curl over her absurdly crooked teeth in a wary smile. “But, uh.. W-who… _are_ you..?” The lizard-like woman surveyed her immediate vicinity, searching for the source of the mysterious words.

It was a difficult task, as whenever the strange figure decided to speak, their words echoed throughout the whole room, whole _lab_ , even. It was as if there were speakers hidden under the metal plating of the walls, amplifying every word that was not her own. There were countless vents and fans, used for what, Alphys had no idea. Perhaps the creature speaking was hiding in one?

She had to be brave. The scientist wasn’t going to die before becoming royally known, and she repeated this to herself like a mantra. Steeling her wavering voice, Alphys narrowed her eyes and called out, hoping her words would ring out in the darkest corners of the mysterious lower levels.

“Who are you?” The monster waited for a moment, straining her ears for any sound other than the whirring of ancient fans and the constant _drip drip drip_ of a leaky faucet.

Nothing.

“C-come on out!” Cursing herself mentally for the stutter that was so achingly obvious, the woman steadied herself on the DT Extraction Machine. To her surprise, the machine was warm, and further examination warranted the soft humming noise of old gears beginning to rotate.

Brows quirked in confusion, she ducked closer to its rusty metal exterior. Pressing up to it in an effort to hear better, the scientist felt the machine heat up further. _What was happening?_

Alphys tried to retrace her steps mentally, wondering how in the world the machine had turned itself on. She couldn’t even remember _touching_ it recently, only having used it a few times. It was extremely finicky for a machine, taking a while to turn on, if at all. Besides, she had pretty much given up on the DETERMINATION experiments, so she had _no_ idea what was happening.

A sudden, deep sense of foreboding crept through the yellow monster’s veins. Whatever was happening, it was _not_ good. Of course, nothing _seemed_ out of place.


End file.
